Weekend Sewing

In contrast to last weekend's power tools and paint, my work this weekend has been a lot more genteel. By day I've been in the garden rather a lot, but for the last two evenings I had my sewing machine out. While my two patchwork projects are calling out for attention, there were more pressing needs in the baby and toddler departments.
First up, a long promised pirate sun hat for P. I made him some shorts out of this fabric from the market a while back, and they've been worn so much the skull and crossbones have almost faded off them. This hat, like the shorts, was made using an Oliver + S pattern from the lovely 'Little Things To Sew'. I've made a few of them now and have plans for more items for the book as presents for the upcoming autumn of birthdays. I think I might have made the crown on this one a little shallow, but as the brim is quite deep it works okay, as the brim shades his eyes without stopping him from being able to see out. He seems happy with it anyway, we're getting lots of 'Aargh, Captain' from him when he wears it.
Next it was another visit to 'Handmade Beginnings' for some booties. My cousin is booked in for a C-section a week tomorrow, and I've already broken my superstitious rule about not making things for babies before they're born by knitting an Aviatrix hat for her baby shower. Even so, I prefer to say that I've made these cute little Liberty print booties for a baby, and if it just so happens that it's the baby that arrives in a week then wonderful. They were a little fiddly, especially getting the inner soles to stick (I need better interfacing) but they've turned out pretty well I think, although looking at their size compared to one-year-old M's feet, I'm not sure 0-3 months is going to be an accurate size, and she may be waiting until winter to wear them.
There was more Liberty print last night when I made M some more 'Quick Change Trousers' from 'Handmade Beginnings'. Mum had given me the Liberty fabric as she knew she wouldn't have time to make a dress with it this year. As it goes, M has had so many lovely dresses given to her this summer that it would be a waste to make another. In addition, her crawling and climbing calls more for trousers so although I indulge myself putting her in the frocks (with the bonus that it slows her up a bit), I indulge her by putting her in leggings and trousers. These ones were partly a contrivance to use the lovely seaside print fabric that our friends had wrapped M's birthday present in instead of wrapping paper. There wasn't that much of it, so I cut the pattern with shorter legs, thinking I might squeeze a cropped pair out of it. That wasn't going to happen, so instead I used the contrast back yoke option, which also gave me a chance to use a fat quarter of lovely red spotty fabric I'd been given. In the end, when they're unrolled the trousers are just the right length- she is only just into the age category for them- while when turned up they are a chic and climber friendly capri length.
Tonight, providing C can stand yet more sewing machine noise, I might just get around to that patchwork.